Online document storage systems allow users and entities to have universal access to documents and other types of files. Rather than storing a document locally, a user can log on to the system and upload and download documents from a web browser at any computer. In another example, one user from an entity can create an upload a document, while a different user accesses the same document to make edits, without the need to send the document back and forth to each other.
One problem with these systems is that there are so many different types of file formats available to users. Consequentially, back end processing of uploaded files can require that they system have compatibility with each of the file formats. Alternatively, uploading may be limited to file formats for which the system has compatibility. On the other hand, leaving files in their native formats provides varying levels of security, wasted storage space from uncompressed data, and other issues.
Another problem is that the huge amount of data stored on the systems make access to specific documents complex. Unless a user indicates the name or location of a document, searching capabilities are limited and slow. For example, a wild card search for a file may require the system to laboriously sort through many large video files for many users to find a desired file.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and system for electronic content management that provides more robust back end processing.